Markets flat in early trades

The Indian markets are trading on a flat note in early trades on Wednesday with the BSE Sensex at 15,955, up 16 points and the Nifty at 4,766, up a point.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 179.82 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 12,397.38 and the S&P 500 Index added 19.46 points, or 1.55 per cent, to 1,277.06.

Asian stocks and the euro firmed on Wednesday, as investor risk appetite returned after upbeat US and European economic data boosted global shares and commodities. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.6 per cent. Japan's Nikkei stock average opened up 1.11 per cent.

Back home, technical analysts suggest that the next logical target for the Nifty could be 4,925 – its medium-term (50-days) DMA. However, failure to sustain above 4,740 could increase the risk of re-test for 4,500. At 720 am Indian Standard Time, the SGX Nifty was trading at 4,788 levels, up 10 points.

On the sectoral front, BSE Metal, Oil & Gas, IT and Bankex indices are marginally up.

BSE Consumer Durables index has gained 2%. The gainers from the pack are Blue Star, Bajaj Electricals, C Mahendra Exports and Titan Industries.

BHEL has advanced nearly 2% at Rs 252 and is the top gainer on the Sensex. Other prominent gainers include ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Wipro and ONGC, up nearly 1% each. The losers from the pack are Bharti Airtel, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Tata Power, down 1-2% each.

Among individual stocks, RIL is trading up by 1% at Rs 728 after the government approved its $1.53 billion investment plan for developing four  satellite fields in the flagging KG D-6 block.

The overall market breadth is positive as 737 stocks have advanced against 524 declining ones, on the NSE.